NEW MARRIAGE LAW.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 86, 10 April 1912, Page 3

NEW MARRIAGE LAW.

A CLERGYMAN'S VIEWS. A well-known clergyman- tells us (Sydney Daily Telegraph) that lit thinks that Mr Hohnan's Bill to altei the marriage law in 'New South Wales, at least, on one point, will be viewed very unfavourably by both priest ant 1 , parson throughout the country. Thi. matter that he objects to is that two persons who wish to get married no matter what age, should first ha to get the consent from a Registrar of births, deaths and marriages, oi some other person, showing that thereis no legal bar. "Will not," asks the clergyman ."some see in this the thin edge oi the wedge- for a civil marriage with out any religious ceremony? I think that the proposal is a reflection on the clergy, as of the thousands of marriages any trouble has been most rare, and quite exceptional, and then, unless there was dishonesty, not their fault. The duties have been remarkably well performed. The average clergyman is better qualified to judge whether people are legally entitled to be married than the average registrar, several of whom are wo men. Mr' Holman has in mind the marriage of minors, but the clergy ar< more likely to judge as to the right age of young people than a registrar, as they have very likely lived among thorn, have baptismal registers ti refer to, and, as to strangers, arc quite as able as the average country registrar to detect a false statement. as it is claimed they so often do. "Mr Holman . thinks that by thi: means he will close marriage shops, but it only touches a small proportion of cases, and the two or three shopr would still flourish, 'and will do so until a direct law is passed for their suppression. Again, it is so urmeces sarily inconvenient for a couple. Mosl arrangements for a- wedding are made in the early part of an evening, and the new law would compel a man to lose half- a day's work, so that he might attend at a registrar's in the daytime, when the office would be open. Tlyo only alteration in the lav. now required is that two or three days' notice should be made necessary to the officiating minister, as a step in preventing undue haste in a marriage."